It’s the theater that changed entertainment in Las Vegas forever.

On Mar. 15, 2003, The Colosseum at Caesars Palace opened, and the ensuing decade has brought awards, more than 70 world-class performers and record-breaking ticket sales to the now-iconic venue.

In honor of the 10-year milestone, resident headliner Celine Dion incorporated a special tribute to The Colosseum in her show on Mar. 16, 2013. And what would any birthday party be without a humongous birthday cake?

Man, alive. That cake's almost actual size!

There have been about 1,750 live performances on The Colosseum’s 7,000-square-foot stage since 2003. The Colosseum was originally built, at a cost of $95 million, for “Celine Dion A New Day.” An estimated 70 million people have seen at least one performance at The Colosseum.

The Colosseum was named the Billboard Touring Awards “Venue of the Decade” in 2010 and has won eight consecutive Billboard Touring Awards for “Top Small Venue.” This blog prefers the word “intimate.” That’s because no seat in The Colosseum is more than 120 feet away from the stage.

Here’s a tribute video Celine Dion shared during her show, featuring entertainment royalty like Elton John, Jerry Seinfeld, Rod Stewart and Shania Twain.

Other entertainment luminaries who have graced the stage at The Colosseum include Bette Midler, Cher, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Luis Miguel, Paul Simon, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan and many others.

Check out a new Web site dedicated to The Colosseum and its 10 crowd-pleasing years on the Las Vegas Strip, and make sure to enter the site’s contest for a chance at winning great prizes, including a stay at Caesars Palace and tickets to a performance of your choice at The Colosseum.

This blog loves it some free Sin City, and now you can enter to win a Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace prize package worth, conservatively speaking, “an amount this blog isn’t taking the time to determine, because we don’t love doing math, but it’s a lot.”

If you like jumping ahead, learn more about Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace, or just enter the sweepstakes, already.

Nobu Hotel has 181 rooms, because 181 looks like "8" (a lucky number in Japan) pressed between two chopsticks. Unless we're completely making that up.

Prizes in the giveaway include round trip airfare for two to Las Vegas (April 26-28, 2013), a two-night stay at the new Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace, a $250 dining credit at Nobu Restaurant and admission to an exclusive Grand Opening party for Nobu Hotel on April 27, 2013.

It’s free to enter, so just visit the official Nobu Hotel sweepstakes page on Facebook.

If you win, this blog will happily take the Nobu Restaurant visit off your hands. We're thoughtful like that.

Nobu Hotel is a boutique hotel-within-a-hotel that’s a collaboration between Caesars Palace and Nobu Hospitality partners Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro (yes, that one) and Meir Teper.

Although the Nobu Hotel only recently opened, it was named one of the “Hottest New Hotels” by CNN Travel. Take a look.

Insert gratuitous photo of a young woman serving cocktails at Nobu Restaurant here. Because we can.

Just one entry to the sweepstakes is permitted, so make sure your fingers are crossed when you enter. We also suggest entering at 8:08 a.m. or p.m., because we weren’t kidding about “8″ being a lucky number in Japan.

The giveaway ends on March 26, 2013. Good luck!

Boys will be boys!

Popular NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. took a few spins in the Caesars Palace limo lot today. Through the miracle of YouTube and this blog’s lackluster videography, you can take a look.

Earnhardt Jr. did the burn-outs as stunt for his sponsor, AMP Energy drink.

Earnhardt Jr. has won NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award 10 times.

He was joined by fellow AMP spokespersons MMA fighter Urijah Faber and Olympic snowboarder Scotty Lago (pictured below).

Lago, Faber and Earnhardt Jr. A trifecta of "This blog should've brought ear plugs."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be racing his No. 88 Chevy in the Kobalt Tools 400 on March 10 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Umm, donuts.

Please note: Earnhardt Jr.’s circles will be slighter bigger, and much faster, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

If you’ve seen these words in a Las Vegas casino, you know what we mean.

This just happened in the casino at Caesars Palace.

This makes us want to lick a slot machine. (Not recommended.)

“Hand pay,” of course, refers to slot jackpots in a range where printing the amount on one of those ticket in-ticket out deals just won’t cut it. A “hand pay” jackpot requires a slot attendant to pay it by hand. In massive mounds of cold, hard cash.

Which this blog then, typically, spends on two other happy words: Frosty cocktails.

Location-based app Foursquare has shared its “Best of” rankings, and Margaritaville at Flamingo Las Vegas has been named the top American restaurant in Sin City.

Check it out, then check-in on Foursquare.

Foursquare bases its “Best of Foursquare” ratings on user tips and comments, likes and overall popularity.

Margaritaville scored an impressive 9.2 on a scale of one to 10, the highest of any restaurant in Foursquare’s American cuisine category.

Margaritaville. It's not just the food.

Also among the “Best of” stand-outs is the Eiffel Tower ride at Paris Las Vegas. Foursquare users consider this ride to the top of the tower one of the “Top Things to Do” in the city. The Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis at Caesars Palace ranked fifth in the “Great Outdoors” category.

In the “Best of Casinos” category, Caesars Palace was among the hotels which ranked highest.

The classic showgirl production Jubilee! at Bally’s Las Vegas and adult carnival Absinthe at Caesars Palace are among the highest-ranked shows in the “Performing Arts” category.

Some "What the hell?" from "Absinthe." Hint: There's a lot of it.

See all the rankings on the official Best of Foursquare, Las Vegas page, and make sure to check in using Foursquare at all your favorite Vegas hotels.

Foursquare badges are fun to collect, and Foursquare check-in offers, things like 2-for-1 drinks or other perks, are a great way to squeeze the most from your Vegas visit.

Wandering through the casino at Caesars Palace recently, we were surprised and borderline giddy to see European roulette is now being offered in the iconic casino.

That’s right, European roulette. Which means Caesars Palace is one of the few casinos on The Strip that offers topless roulette! Which would be even more awesome if we weren’t just making it up. Well, the topless part, anyway.

Looks funky. Feels so good.

What’s European roulette, you ask? Well, primarily, European roulette means that instead of a zero and double-zero on the table, there’s just zero. Why does this matter? Because having just one zero lowers the house edge, and that’s always a good thing.

In American roulette, with zero and double-zero, roulette’s house edge is 5.26%. Having just a zero lowers the house advantage to 2.7%. This difference in percentages is music to a roulette player’s ears.

Other casinos on The Strip may have European-style roulette, but they tend to keep the tables tucked away in their high roller salons. Caesars Palace has European roulette in both its high roller area and on its main casino floor.

European roulette also offers some additional bets you don’t see in American roulette. These are “call bets,” and you should probably ask your dealer what they mean, because we pretty much have no clue. They’re in a foreign language, after all.

We are a blog, not a linguist.

From what we can gather, call bets in European roulette cover different number combinations. On the table we visited, the call bets are called “0-Spiel,” “Voisins,” “Orphelins” and “Tiers.” The “Voisins” bet is our favorite, because while we don’t know what it means, it does have “sin” in it, and Las Vegas is Sin City, so we’re kind of biased.

We looked it up. "Voisins" means "neighbors." That certainly clears things up.

Because these European-style call bets cover a variety of numbers, the betting increments and payouts vary. So, again, inquire with your dealer.

Have fun, and always make the most of your gambling allowance by knowing the odds. The house ultimately has the advantage, but a game like European roulette can get you a step closer to cashing out a winner.

You’d sort of expect excellent food at an Italian restaurant, especially in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Official Motto: “Everything in Las Vegas tastes better because we also have pole dancing.”)

But Trevi Restaurant, inside The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, does great Italian food one better by also serving up some mind-blowing signature cocktails.

Yes, there's a fountain. It's not the Trevi fountain. Long story. Please try and stay focused. We're talking about cocktails here.

Here, then, are five libations sure to make you feel like you just tossed a coin into an Italian fountain and got lucky. So to speak.

Stealing the show, right off the bat, is the mesmerizing Pomegranate Cosmo. This Sin City-worthy temptation has Sobieski Orange vodka, fresh pomegranate juice, triple sec liqueur and fresh-squeezed lime.

Come to mamma. Or mamma mia. Whatever.

Also ridiculously good is the Capri Coral Crush, with Smirnoff Melon vodka, along with a blend of mango, guava, pineapple and passion fruit juices.

Speaking of "Capri," did you know The Quad hotel in Las Vegas was once called the Flamingo Capri? Yes, there will be a quiz.

The Italian margarita has Sauza Gold tequila, Cointreau, Amaretto and fresh lime juice. What it mostly has is the ability to help you get past pretty much any drama in your life, at least for awhile.

You can tell it's an Italian margarita because after you drink one, you'll feel like putting on a striped shirt and singing to tourists. Probably.

The Coconut Mojito is not only pleasing to the palate, but also to the eye. It contains Pearl Coconut vodka with fresh mint and lime, with splashes of soda and pineapple juice. Don’t try to replicate a “splash” at home. The cocktails at Trevi are prepared by professionals trained in the art of splashing.

Waiter, would you mind bringing over a diving board? Thanks.

Last, but in no way the least, is the Sangrini. It’s one of the best slushy drinks we’ve had in town, and while we can’t entirely remember what was in it, we’d call that a tremendous selling point.

"Peach Bellini with Valpolicella wine" seems to ring a bell.

Every signature cocktail at Trevi is more saporous than the last. And while we can’t guarantee the cocktails will suddenly make you start using big words like “saporous,” we’re pretty sure they can help you mispronounce a few.

Video poker fans are going to love the new My Poker Multi-Game Poker machines at Caesars Palace and Harrah’s Las Vegas. Why? Because they’re the only video poker machines we know of that remember you and what you’re into, or at least seem to.

This blog strives to be memorable.

My Poker video poker machines straddle the world of real and virtual casinos, making it seamless to play for fun at home, even customizing your game’s settings, while automatically transferring those settings to the machine at your favorite casino. Here’s what we mean.

First, find a My Poker Multi-Game Poker machine in the casino. The slot attendants can help. We decided to test drive one at Caesars Palace. Insert your Total Rewards loyalty card (free to join, of course), and on these special machines, you’ll be asked if you’d like to create an account. It’s an account just for My Poker, and it’s definitely worth the 12 seconds it takes to set up.

On a video poker machine, this blog can type an astonishing four words a minute.

You select a username, and a password. Then the fun begins.

As you play, you can personalize a variety of things about the game like the design of your cards, background colors, how quickly the cards are dealt and more.

We are the master of our video poker domain.

It’s fun to play around with the “card art.”

This card face can be seen from the surface of the Moon.

One of the features we enjoyed most was being able to choose how we want to celebrate our winning hands, with chips or jewels flying through the air. We like celebrating. Typically, we do that by dancing nude around our video poker machine. But chips are nice, too.

They sort of cascade. If that's a thing chips can do.

The video poker machine will even spit out a voucher to make it easier to log in if you move to another machine.

The My Poker machine remembers all your custom settings, so the next time you log in, all your settings are there. But here’s the cool part. Say you leave the casino. (Why you would want to do that, we have no idea, but this is a hypothetical situation, so just play along.) Now, you’re at home on your computer and want to work on your video poker strategy. You visit the My Poker site (called Player’s Life), log in with the same username and password you set up in the casino, and the personalized settings are reflected in your virtual, play-for-fun (translation: no actual money is involved) machine online.

Well, hello, ladies.

Any changes you make to your settings online will be reflected on the in-casino machine the next time you visit, and vice versa.

The visuals are just the beginning of the benefits of playing on a My Poker video poker machine. You can also track your total hands played, royal flush and straight flush pays, overall wins, and compare your results to other players on a leader board.

Not that you have a competitive streak or anything.

“Trophies” are also awarded for various accomplishments. No mantle or dusting required.

We love the idea of getting a trophy for just showing up.

My Poker, made by WMS Gaming, provides the ultimate control of your video poker experience, online and off. From what we understand, these machines are the first of their kind in the casino industry. This blog happens to be a huge fan of both “new” and “first.” Oh, and “casino.” Find out more.

So, give them a try let us know what percentage of your winnings you’ll be sending this blog as a thank-you. Because you’re appreciative like that.

Recently, Caesars Palace hosted a glitzy event in honor of the release of Sports Illustrated magazine’s annual swimsuit issue. It’s possible this blog was there to take some photos.

One blog's "gratuitous" is another blog's "essential."

Several of the models featured in the swimsuit issue walked a red carpet, and honestly, the red carpet is still smiling.

Sorry this photo didn't turn out too well. Our flash went off prematurely.

One of the highlights of the event involved turning the Octavius Tower at Caesars Palace into a 51,000-square-foot projection screen, upon which additional genetically-gifted swimsuit models frolicked.

It's a huge deal to be an SI model. At times, literally.

Advanced 3D technology was used to create “an animation mapped to the contours of the Octavius Tower,” whatever that actually means.

Here’s a snazzy video from our new best friends at Sports Illustrated that may better illustrate what transpired.

The Sports Illustrated event at the Garden of the Gods pool complex at Caesars was streamed live across the Web, leaving it, too, smiling.

We get this a lot. Models love bloggers. And rock musicians. But mostly bloggers.

Some of the models who took part in the red carpet were Nina Agdal, Jessica Gomes, Kate Bock, Emily Didonato, Cintia Dicker, Alyssa Miller and Genevieve Morton.

Bonus points if you’re able to match them up to our photos, because we did not take notes, as usual.

Jessica Gomes. Some notes we took.

The 220-page SI swimsuit issue for 2013 features photo spreads of models on all seven continents.

And, yes, if you guessed we’re just filling space now to share more photos, you’re right.

Model Genevieve Morton loves comedy movies like "Anchorman." Now, that's hot.

Sports Illustrated scholars will note that cover girl Kate Upton was on last year’s cover, too, the first time there’s been a back-to-back cover model since Tyra Banks, in 1996 and 1997.

Emily Didonato's photo shoot was in Namibia, a part of the world known for this blog not being able to find it on a map.

See more SI swimsuit models at the official Sports Illustrated site, if you’re into that kind of thing.

What could possibly be better than Sports Illustrated swimsuit models in bikinis? How about Sports Illustrated swimsuit models projected, in 3-D, on the side of a massive Las Vegas hotel tower? Wish granted.

On Feb. 13, 2013, Caesars Palace will host a massive publicity event at its Garden of the Gods pool in honor of Sports Illustrated magazine’s 50th annual swimsuit issue.

In Las Vegas, size matters.

The hotel’s Octavius Tower will serve as a giant projection screen as state-of-the-art projectors, advanced 3-D technology and custom animation show off this year’s crop of stunning swimsuits on a scale only Vegas could pull off. So to speak.

Kate Upton snags the cover for the second year in a row.

The event is open to the public, and will be preceded with a glitzy red carpet. Sports Illustrated models and Las Vegas entertainers are slated to attend. The annual swimsuit issue hits stands today, Feb. 12. Not that this blog circles that date with a giant, red Magic Marker or anything.

Doors open for the 3-D presentation at Garden of the Gods pool at Caesars Palace at 7:15 p.m., so arrive early to get the best viewing spot. Specifically, standing next to wherever this blog is going to be.

Actor Robert De Niro, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa and other VIPs took part in a ribbon-cutting to herald the opening of Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace and Nobu Restaurant and Lounge at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

The moment foodies have been salivating for.

Both the 181-room Nobu Hotel (a boutique hotel-within-a-hotel at Caesars Palace) and Nobu Restaurant officially open Feb. 4, 2013.

Nobu Hospitality partners Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro and Meir Teper outside Nobu Restaurant at Caesars Palace.

We snagged some exclusive video of the ribbon-cutting, as well as some remarks from Chef Nobu and Robert De Niro.

Chef Nobu (who made a point of saying he was using an authentic Japanese sword during the ribbon-cutting, as opposed to a prop) and Robert De Niro were joined by Caesars Palace President Gary Selesner, lead designer David Rockwell, Nobu Hospitality partner Meir Teper and others for the event which featured Japanese taiko drummers.

The sticks used to play Japanese taiko drums are called "bachi." Feel free to use this information to impress friends and loved ones.

Robert De Niro trivia: The actor first gained fame by appearing in a film called “Bang the Drum Slowly.” Ah, the circularity of the universe.

Also on hand were two statuesque models (one does not live by percussion alone), including one in a dress made almost entirely from origami cranes. Look below for what unfolded.

"Unfolded." See what we did there?

The opening of Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace is accompanied by a number of firsts. For example, it’s the first Nobu Hotel in the world. Also, for the first time, guests will be able to enjoy in-room dining from a Nobu Restaurant, including a breakfast menu (another first). The restaurant will be open 24/7.

The sushi is just the beginning. But it's a great beginning.

At 12,775-squre-feet, Nobu Restaurant & Lounge is the largest Nobu Restaurant in the world.

A peek inside Nobu Restaurant. You're welcome.

Find out more about Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace. Or learn how to make an origami crane if that’s more your thing.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay recently took guests on a tour of his two new Las Vegas restaurants, traveling between them in a decked-out double-decker bus.

Careful under palm trees, upper deck. We're just saying.

Ramsay showed off the decor, cuisine and staff uniforms at both Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill at Caesars Palace and Gordon Ramsay BurGR at Planet Hollywood.

Gordon Ramsay at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill. Very meta.

Let’s hear from Chef Ramsay himself in some exclusive video!

On the last leg of the whirlwind tour, Ramsay introduced a British tradition to The Strip, the traditional British Sunday Roast. The offerings included roasted prime beef rib eye, fingerling potatoes, parsnips, minted English peas and classic Yorkshire pudding. Related: This is the closest this blog has been to peas in 14 years, but you go ahead and enjoy.

This, we didn't know: The taps at BurGR extend through a wall of ice to keep the beer cold.

With the opening of Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill and BurGR, the chef’s restaurants in Sin City now total three. Gordon Ramsay Steak opened at Paris Las Vegas in 2012 as well.

Chef Ramsay at BurGR inside Planet Hollywood. Keeping track of all this?

During his visit, Chef Ramsay introduced Allison Leach, the designer behind the distinctive uniforms at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill and BurGR. Some samples from BurGR, below.

Allison is sassy woman in glasses.

Yes, we were taking photos of the uniforms.

One of the eye-catching uniforms at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill. They make for interesting reading.

No matter what impression a reality show like “Hell’s Kitchen” might give, we’ve found Gordon Ramsay to be nothing but affable and charming in person. And we’re not just saying that because we’re afraid of him calling us a “donkey,” even though we probably deserve it at times.

Oh, all right, we'll try the peas sometime. Possibly.

Enjoy a few more photos from Chef Ramsay’s Tour de Gastronomy, a name we completely just made up.

The construction wall at Nobu Restaurant and Lounge at Caesars Palace has come down as the new establishment readies to open on Feb. 4, 2013, which means we finally get a peek at this much-anticipated new restaurant.

While still a work-in-progress, we couldn’t resist poking our camera in to snap a few “under construction” photos.

This blog's chopsticks are at the ready.

The new Nobu Restaurant is a whopping 12,775 square feet, making it famed Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s largest to-date. There are 24 Nobu restaurants worldwide.

The restaurant at Caesars Palace was designed by architect and designer David Rockwell.

Let there be light. Fixtures.

Nobu Restaurant has a sushi bar, a private dining area and a distinctive exterior inspired by traditional Japanese ikebana baskets. The restaurant seats 325 people.

Ikebana, by the way, is the traditional art of flower-arranging. Yes, this blog reads from time to time. As a last resort, of course.

The interior features natural design elements including stone, wood and paper. The interior also sports patterned, private “dining pods” and over-sized light fixtures, inspired by Japanese tea whisks.

The aforementioned whisk-inspired lights, we presume.

The menu will have a wide selection of dishes including Nobu’s signature black cod with miso, rock shrimp tempura, yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno and squid pasta. Note: Dibs on “Squid Pasta” as a band name.

Also unique to Nobu Restaurant and Lounge at Caesars Palace will be teppanyaki (iron griddle) tables, the first time a Nobu restaurant in the U.S. has had them.

No, way! Has Cleopatra's Way has been renamed to Nobu Way? Yes, way.

The restaurant’s opening coincides with the Feb. 4 opening of the first-of-its-kind Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace.

On what we assume is a related note: Hyakumi restaurant at Caesars Palace will no longer serve dinner after Feb. 1, 2013. The restaurant will, however, continue to serve lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

More news about Nobu Restaurant and Lounge at Caesars Palace to come!

We don’t make up the news, we just report it.

Oh, Las Vegas, you're just so...you sometimes.

Learn more about this event on Facebook and about Pure nightclub at Caesars Palace, although “Pure” should probably be in quotation marks.

Las Vegas is experiencing, and embracing, some briskness at the moment. All right, maybe it’s not all that brisk compared to your hometown, but for Sin City, anything under 50-degrees is a cold snap!

A chilly few days has provided Vegas visitors, and this blog, a rare opportunity to capture the Caesars Palace fountains in all their shimmering, mid-winter glory.

You thought we were kidding?

We’ve already pitched “Cleo on Ice” to the powers-that-be at Caesars Palace.

There are 12 crystalline states of ice and two amorphous states. Which we totally knew off the top of our head.

Time to brush up on our ice fishing skills.

Gorgeous, no matter the weather.

The nozzles in the fountains are made to resist widely varying temperatures (from winter chills to toasty summers), so the fountains pretty much always continue to, you know, fountain.

How cold is it in Las Vegas? Why, let’s ask our friends at Photoshop!

Yes, just the ears are covered. What part of "Sin City" don't you understand?

Thankfully, the sun’s still shining, as it does 361 days of the year in Las Vegas.

This, despite the fact, we just made that number up.

Sunny and cool, baby.

The ice on the surface of the ponds surrounding the fountains is estimated to be about 2-3 inches thick. Sorry, no ice skating. Or whatever people do with on ice. Typically, in Vegas, the only ice we see gets crushed into tasty beverages.

We risked frostbite to get these photos, so you'd better look at all of them.

Our dazzling winter fountain wonderland isn’t expected to last long, but we’re enjoying it while we can. Bring along a sweater if you’re visiting within the next couple of weeks. Or someone wearing a sweater. If you know what we’re saying. Because we’re not entirely sure we do.

Just add margarita mix. Or something.

Enjoy a few more exclusive photos from the fabulous fountains of Caesars Palace. Who wants to ride on the Zamboni? Again, if you know what we’re saying.